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I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.

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Friday, October 21, 2011

So, taste is subjective, and it’s also subject to change. Back in the day before I made most of the ice cream we have at home, Kurt and I used to stand in front of the freezer section of the grocery store and negotiate about which flavor to choose. He would quickly rule out my favorite, butter pecan, and I would not even let him point to his favorite which was mint chocolate chip. If I remember correctly, we usually ended up with dutch chocolate or cherry garcia. Each of our favorites had to wait for special occasions like our birthdays or something like that. It’s been years since Kurt has even mentioned mint chocolate ice cream, but I thought I’d whip up a special treat just for him and maybe, just maybe, I’d come around to this flavor combination in a homemade version. The fresh mint ice cream recipe is from The Perfect Scoop, and in the perfect pairings paragraph, adding chunks of chewy-dense brownies, also in the book, is suggested. The great thing about the brownies is that they really do remain chewy after being frozen. Little chunks of them were folded into the churned ice cream before letting it set up in the freezer. The ice cream itself was lovely and fragrant from the fresh mint leaves, and steeping the leaves in the milk even tinted it just barely green.

The brownies were made by melting unsweetened chocolate and butter and then adding sugar, eggs, and vanilla. A scant bit of flour along with some salt was added to the batter, and I omitted the chocolate chips and optional nuts. The brownies baked until just set, and then when cool, they were cut into small chunks. To begin the ice cream, milk, sugar, some cream, and a pinch of salt were combined and warmed in a saucepan. Two cups worth of mint leaves were added to the milk mixture, the pan was covered, and it was left to steep for an hour. The mint was strained out of the milk mixture, and the milk mixture went back on the stove to be warmed again. Then, the usual procedure for a custard took place. Five egg yolks were tempered with the warm milk mixture, the whole combination went back on the stove until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and then it was strained into a bowl with additional cream. The custard was cooled and then churned in an ice cream maker. Last, the finished mint ice cream was layered in a dish with chunks of chewy brownies, and it was frozen until firm.

Steeping the mint leaves in the milk gave it even more flavor than I expected. The freshness of the mint flavor with the richness of the custard took me by surprise. I liked it. And, those chunks of chewy brownie pieces were way better to my mind than those hard, waxy-tasting chocolate chips in the store-bought stuff that Kurt used to like. Kurt, on the other hand, was confused. This was not the mint chocolate ice cream he remembered from years ago. This was something completely different, and it was very good. But, for the record, he liked those hard bits of chocolate chips.

I have to agree with Kurt, I love mint chocolate chip ice cream. This version looks infinitely better than the pale green store bought version. Think my next purchase may have to be an ice cream maker :)

What you described used to happen all the time when I was a kid - this was my sister's favorite along with pistachio. Neither one was mine. She always got her way. If it had been an out-of-this-world delicious homemade version like this I wouldn't of minded so much!

I've never been a mint ice cream fan either but then I suppose I'd like anything with brownie bits so I might have to give this recipe a whirl. Looks terrific! David Lebovitz is an ice cream genius! Eric adapted his chocolate/coconut sorbet recipe for the vegan dinner the other night. Because the Health Starts Here program won't allow the use of any refined sugars, he used pureed figs and made a paste to use as sweetener. By all reports, the ice cream was fantastic. He keeps forgetting to email me the dinner menu. When he does, I'll send it along to you.

I have been wanting to make this,except using the new chocolate mint herb that I have seen discussed by a few bloggers, but I have yet to find it. Mint chocolate chip is my favorite ice cream-so it rarely lasts long here. I really do need to make it at home-yours does look amazing. I love the light green color of the base. Thanks for the inspiring post.

When I was pregnant, both times, Randy and I would share a pint of Ben and Jerry's Half Baked, eating it directly out of the container until it was gone. He would eat all the cookie dough bits and I would eat all the brownie bits. Those definitely did NOT stay soft but I loved them anyway. If only I had been making my own ice cream in those "eat whatever I want" days!

Oh my god. This recipe looks incredible. Mint Chocolate Chip is one of my favorite ice cream flavors, but with brownie chunks!? You're a genius. And using fresh mint is always so much better than whatever the store-bought brands bring to the table.

Lisa looks really delicious!!! I love to find a chunks of chocolate on an ice cream, so yours must be really good!Thank you for sharing It's good to know the recipe came from "The perfect scoop" I have to get it.